Artist: Sydney Bechet

Sidney Joseph Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. It was not until the late 1940s did he earn wide acclaim. Bechet spent much of his later life in France. 

Born in New Orleans, Bechet played in many New Orleans ensembles using the  improvisational techniques of the time (obbligatos with scales  and  arpeggios and varying the melody). While working with Louis Armstrong, Bechet is said to be the first musician to develop the Swing style of jazz, and he influenced the widening difference between  jazz  and ragtime. 

He performed in parades with Freddie Keppard's  brass band, the Olympia Orchestra, and in John Robichaux's dance orchestra. From 1911 to 1912, he performed with Bunk Johnson in the Eagle Band of New Orleans and in 1913–14 with King Oliver in the Olympia Band. From 1914 to 1917, he was touring and traveling, going as far north as Chicago and frequently performing with Freddie Keppard. 

In the spring of 1919, he traveled to New York City, where he joined Will Marion Cook's Syncopated Orchestra. Soon after, the orchestra traveled to Europe; almost immediately upon arrival, they performed at the Royal Philharmonic Hall in London. The group was warmly received, and Bechet was especially popular. 

While in London, he discovered the straight soprano saxophone and developed a style unlike his clarinet tone. Bechet was the first influential soprano saxophonist and led to its rising popularity in jazz. His saxophone sound could be described as emotional, reckless, and large. He often used a broad vibrato, similar to some New Orleans clarinetists at the time.

In 1924, Bechet worked with Duke Ellington for three months and made a significant impact on Ellington's early jazz style. Duke Ellington called him "the epitome of jazz." 

On September 15, 1925, Bechet and other members of the Revue Nègre, including  Josephine Baker, sailed to Europe, arriving at Cherbourg, France, on September 22. The revue opened at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on October 2. He toured Europe with multiple bands, reaching as far as Russia in mid-1926. In 1928, he led his small band at Chez Bricktop (run by the popular Ada "Bricktop" Smith) in Montmartre, Paris. 

In France, Bechet found that he was appreciated by a wider audience and had more general freedom than he did in the United States. In 1932, Bechet returned to New York City to lead a band with Tommy Ladnier. The band, consisting of six members, performed at the Savoy Ballroom. He played in Noble Sissle's orchestra, which toured in Germany and Russia.